Position, academic and professional qualifications

Prof Martha M Bradley is employed as an Associate Professor in the Department of Public Law, Faculty of Law, as of 1 January 2022. She joined the University of Pretoria on 1 July 2019 as a lecturer in this department. Professor Bradley has been selected to participate in the prestigious DHET Future Professors Program Phase 2 Cohort 1. As of 1 January 2022, Professor Bradley has also been designated as a Y1 NRF rated scholar.

Professor Bradley holds LLB, LLM (International Air, Space and Telecommunication Law) and LLD degrees from the University of Pretoria. Her doctoral these is titled, ‘An analysis of the notions of ‘organised armed groups’ and ‘intensity’ in the law of non-international armed conflict’. She also has an LLM degree in Shipping Law from the University of Cape Town. In May 2019, Professor Bradley completed the 40th Advanced Course on International Humanitarian Law, the 50th Course for Directors of Courses and Trainers on IHL and the Peace Support Operations Course at the International Institute for International Humanitarian Law in San Remo, Italy. In 2020, Professor Bradley completed the Special Course on the Application of the ‘Handbook on Integrating Gender Perspectives into International Operations’ and in 2021, the first IHL in-depth course offered by the International Institute for International Humanitarian Law in San Remo, Italy. In November 2020, Professor Bradley completed the DIES/CREST Online Training Course for Supervisors offered by the DIES/CREST online training course (University of Stellenbosch: Centre for Research on Evaluation, Science and Technology).  During May and June 2021, Professor Bradley completed the prestigious Advanced Seminar in International Humanitarian Law for Academics and Policy Makers (14th Edition) hosted by the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights.  She also holds certificates for attending the Summer School in Public International Law held by The Hague Academy of International Law, The Hague, The Netherlands in 2017 as well as the 2015 MACIL Summer School on Public International Law held at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany.

Academic and professional experience

At tertiary level, Professor Bradley has lectured to undergraduates since 2012 and to post-graduates since 2013 at a national and international level. She was the primary lecturer in and coordinator of the LLM Course on the Law of Armed Conflict and the Use of Force at Palacký University in Olomouc, Faculty of Law, Department of International and European Law, Czech Republic during the 2018-2019 winter semester. She was employed as co-lecturer in the international law module at undergraduate level in the Department of Public Law, Faculty of Law, University of Johannesburg, South Africa, from February to July 2018. Before her permanent appointment to the Department of Public Law at the University of Pretoria, Professor Bradley was a part-time lecturer for the LLM module in Advanced International Law between 1 April 2019 and 30 June 2019 and held the position of extraordinary lecturer in this subject from July 2018 to June 2019. She began her academic career in this department where she was an academic associate for international law between February 2013 and November 2015.

Professor Bradley has held research positions at two academic institutions, locally and abroad. After completing her doctorate, she joined the Faculty of Law at the University of Johannesburg (1 March 2018) where she was appointed as a post-doctoral researcher to the South African Research Chair for International Law until 30 June 2019. She was also employed as a researcher at the Palacký University in Olomouc, Faculty of Law, Department of International and European Law, the Czech Republic between September 2018 and March 2019.

Teaching activities

At undergraduate level, Professor Bradley teaches, and is the module coordinator for, International Law (PBL 320). She also teaches the elective International Humanitarian Law (PUR 420). She lectures in the LLM Modules: Advanced International Law (AIL 802), Applied International Law (MCL 801), International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights in Military Operations (IHM 801) and International Criminal Law (ICL 802). Of these modules, Professor Bradley is also the module coordinator for AIL 802, ICL 802 and IHM 801. Additionally, she serves on the Teaching and Learning Committee of the Faculty of Law.

Prof Bradley often takes on the role of an instructor in annual ICRC All-Africa Course on IHL as organised by the Pretoria Branch of the International Committee of the Red Cross. In this role, she focuses on the law of non-international armed conflict. She also teaches international climate change law in the Short Course on Environmental Law hosted by Enterprises at the University of Pretoria (CE@UP), Faculty of Law.

Professor Bradley regularly teaches at an international level on topics of international humanitarian law, in general, and, more specifically, conflict classification. The universities and institutes where this takes place include: Palacký University in Olomouc, Czech Republic; the NUST Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies (NIPCONS) at the Centre for International Peace and Stability (CIPS), Islamabad; and as of 2021 the prestigious International Institute for International Humanitarian Law in San Remo, Italy.

In 2020 Professor Bradley was nominated for the UP Teaching Excellence Awards. 

Representative publications

Articles in peer-reviewed journals (selected)

• Bradley, M ‘Determining the intensity threshold in a mosaic of non-international armed conflicts, from Lubanga to Ongwen: The International Criminal Court’s contribution towards a cumulative assessment approach’ THRHR 2021 (48)2 199- 217 (DHET accredited).
• Bradley, M and De Beer, A 'The Collective Responsibility of Organised Armed Groups for Sexual and Gender-Based Violence during a Non-International Armed Conflict' Stellenbosch Law Review 2021 (32)1 129-154.
• Bradley, M ‘Classifying non-international armed conflicts: The “territorial control” requirement under Additional Protocol II in an era of complex conflicts’ (2020) 11 (2) Journal of International Humanitarian Legal Studies 349-384 (SCOPUS index).
• De Beer, A and Bradley, M ‘Appellate deference v de novo analysis of evidence: The decision of the Appeals Chamber in Prosecutor v Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo’ (2021) 22 Yearbook of International Humanitarian Law 153-185 (SCOPUS index).
• Bradley, M and De Beer, A ‘“All necessary and reasonable measures”: The Bemba case and the threshold for command responsibility" (2020) 20(2) International Criminal Law Review 163-213 (SCOPUS index).
• Bradley, M ‘Revisiting the scope of application of Additional Protocol II: Exploring the inherent minimum threshold requirements (2019) African Yearbook of International Humanitarian Law 81-123 (DHET accredited).
• Bradley, M ‘“Protracted armed conflict”: A conundrum. Does article 8(2)(f) of the Rome Statute require an organised armed group to meet the organisational criteria of Additional Protocol II?’ (2019) 3 South African Journal of Criminal Justice 291-323 (DHET accredited).
• Bradley, M ‘Revisiting the notion of “organised armed group” in accordance with Common Article 3: Exploring the inherent minimum threshold requirements’ (June 2019) African Yearbook of International Humanitarian Law 50-79 (DHET accredited).
• Bradley, M ‘Revisiting the notion of “intensity” inherent in Common Article 3: An examination of the minimum threshold which satisfies the notion of “intensity” and a discussion of the possibility of applying a method of cumulative assessment’ (2017) 17(2) International Comparative Law Review 7-38.
• Bradley, M ‘The “intensity” threshold in accordance with article 8(2)(f) the Rome Statute: The conundrum the concept “protracted armed conflict” raises and the probability of a new category of non-international armed conflict’ (2017) South African Yearbook of International Law 42-79 (DHET accredited).
• Bradley, M ‘Expanding the borders of Common Article 3 in non-international armed conflicts: Amending its geographical application through subsequent practice?’ (2017) 64(3) Netherlands International Law Review 375-406 (IBSS accredited).

• Bradley, M ‘Additional Protocol II: Elevating the minimum threshold of intensity’ International Review of the Red Cross, (2021) 102 (915), 1125–1152 (SCOPUS) (IBSS accredited) (WoS accredited) (H-index 35).

Chapters in books (selected)

• Bradley, M in “Jus Cogens’ Preferred Sister: Obligations Erga Omnes and the International Court of Justice – Fifty Years after the Barcelona Traction Case” in D Tladi (ed) Peremptory Norms of General International Law (Jus Cogens): Disquisitions and Disputations Developments in International Law, volume 75 Brill 193-226
• Strydom, H and Bradley, M ‘The rise of the neo-patrimonial state in South Africa: From the rule of law to the rule of persons’ in C Hugo and T Müller (eds) Legality and limitation of power: Values, principles and regulations in civil law, criminal law and public law (Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co KG 2020) 19-42
• Venter, R and Bradley, M ‘Heads of state in violation of the law: A typology of the responsibility framework and its effectiveness from a domestic, regional and international perspective’ in H Strydom and J Botha (eds) Select essays on governance and accountability issues in public law ((Sun Media 2020) 55-92
• Venter, R and Bradley, M ‘Legal certainty in terms of head-of-state immunity from an African and an international perspective: The article 27(2) conundrum’ in C Hugo and T Müller (eds) Legality and limitation of power: Values, principles and regulations in civil law, criminal law and public law (Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co KG 2020) 53-84

Areas of specialisation

Prof Bradley’s general areas of specialisation lie in public international law and international humanitarian law. After completing her doctorate in 2018, Professor Bradley has increasingly focused her research on conflict classification and the law of non-international armed conflict. Her interests lie in the area of the practice of organised armed groups in Africa and in analysing complex situations which challenge classification, including situations where organised armed groups are fragmented, where there is low-intensity armed conflict, as well as situations of cross-border armed conflicts. She has also published on the doctrine of command responsibility.

Research interests

The law of non-international armed conflict, specifically the law of conflict classification.

Academic and professional memberships

• External Expert – Centre for International Humanitarian and Operational Law, Department of International and European Law, Faculty of Law, Palacký University, Czech Republic
• Editorial Board – Pretoria University Law Press (PULP)
• Treasurer – South African Branch of the International Law Association (SABILA)
• Member - ILA (International Law Associations) Steering Committee of the ILA white paper on Outer Space.

Appointments

Professor Martha Bradley formerly held a research position in the Department of International and European Law at Palacký University, Czech Republic between September 2018 and March 2019. Professor Bradley also held a post-doctoral research position under the South African Research Chair for International Law based in the Law Faculty of the University of Johannesburg, South Africa between March 2018 and June 2019. She was appointed co-lecturer for Public International Law (for undergraduate students) in the Department of Public Law, Faculty of Law, University of Johannesburg between February 2018 and July 2018. Professor Bradley has also held various temporary appointments in the Department of Public Law at the University of Pretoria before joining the department on a full-time basis from 1 July 2019. These appointments include part-time lecturer (April to June 2019); extraordinary lecturer (July 2018 to June 2019); and academic associate (February 2013 to November 2015). Professor Bradley was a marker for Public International Law in the Department of Public at UNISA from November 2014 to June 2019. As of 2021, Professor Bradley serves as moderator for Public International Law at undergraduate and postgraduate level at the Department of Public at UNISA.

Awards and bursaries (selected)

• Mobility Grant (Call No 02_16_027 for International Mobility of Researchers in Priority Axis 2 of the OP), Palacký University in Olomouc, Faculty of Law, Department of International and European Law, Czech Republic; duration: six months; value: €2 500 per month
• NRF post-doctoral research funding: grant holder linked scholarship South African Research Chair in International Law, Faculty of Law, University of Johannesburg
• Hague Academy of International Law doctoral scholarship, The Hague Academy of International Law, The Hague, The Netherlands; duration: a two-month period; value: €1 200 per month
• NRF grant holder linked doctoral scholarship – full-time doctoral research: SARChi Chair in International Constitutional Law (February to November 2016) National Research Foundation

Representative participation at conferences and seminars (selected)

• Virtual Conference ‘Annual Junior Faculty Forum’ 2022 (hosted by Joseph Weiler, Sarah Nouwen, Dino Kritsiotis and Dire Tladi), ‘Testing the boundaries of Tadic: Assessing the intensity of violence through an aggregated approach in complex conflict settings’(13 March 2022)
•  Virtual Conference, Centre for International Humanitarian and Operational Law (CIHOL) Palacký University Olomouc, Faculty of Law (Czech Republic), Conference on ‘Legal, Political and Security Dynamics of the Conflict in Northern Mozambique’ invited speaker on ‘Conflict classification and Cabo Delgado: Focus on Al Shabaab/IS Mozambique’ (17 March 2022)
• Virtual Conference for IHL University Teachers, ‘Fighting Covid 19 in the context of an armed conflict: what does international law say?’ ICRC Nigeria Branch, (30 November 2021)
• Centre for International Humanitarian and Operational Law (CIHOL) Palacký University Olomouc, Faculty of Law (Czech Republic), Conference on the sole presenter of research paper on ‘The ICC´s contribution to the development and enforcement of international humanitarian law’ invited speaker on ‘The intensity threshold in article 8(2)(f) of the Rome Statute’ (12 February 2021) (ESIL Supported Conference)
• Augsburg Johannesburg Conference on Legal Certainty and Fundamental Rights: Strydom and Bradley ‘The rise of the new-patrimonial state in South Africa: From the rule of law to the rule of persons’ Frauenchiemsee Island, Germany (7 June 2019)
• Augsburg Johannesburg Conference on Legal Certainty and Fundamental Rights: Venter and Bradley ‘Legal certainty in head-of-state immunity from an African and international perspective’ Frauenchiemsee Island, Germany (7 June 2019)
• ICRC Pretoria Branch: Colloquium, paper presented: ‘Challenges concerning the classification of armed groups operating in the DRC’ (29 January 2019)
• International Workshop on Universal and Regional Systems of Human Rights Protection: The Constant Process of Construction and Reconstruction – ‘The constitutional protection of multilingualism: The relevance of human rights law’ Palacký University, Faculty of Law, Department of International and European Law, Olomouc, Czech Republic (13 December 2018)
• Expert Workshop on Dynamics and Armed Conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Centre of International and Operational Law at the Swedish Defence University in Stockholm, Sweden in cooperation with the University of Johannesburg and Essex University Law School; Expert Speaker on the topic ‘The classification of the conflict in the DRC’ (11 and 12 December 2018)
• Faculty of Law, Palacký University, Olomouc, Czech Republic, Workshop on European Union Training Mission (EUTM) in Mali; Speaker on the application of Additional Protocol II to the Mali conflict (6 November 2018)
• Nelson Mandela University, Faculty of Law, Port Elizabeth, South Africa: Speaker at conference (Venter, R and Bradley, M ‘Heads of states in violation of the law: Examining the responsibility framework and its effectiveness from a domestic, regional and international perspective’ Nelson Mandela/UJ Book Project, Cape St Francis Resort (23-24 August 2018)
• Faculty of Law, Palacký University, Olomouc, Czech Republic: Speaker at conference (paper accepted): Judicial Days: Hybrid Threats in International Law; topic: ‘Revisiting the notions of intensity and organised armed groups inherent in Common Article 3: When will a hybrid threat trigger the application of the law of non-international armed conflict?’ (24 May 2018)
• Doctoral thesis presentation and discussion: Hague Academy Doctoral Programme: The Hague Academy of International Law, The Hague, The Netherlands: presentation: ‘An examination of the notion of “organised armed groups” and the notion of “intensity” in the context of non-international armed conflict’ (20 July 2017)

Contact details

Email: [email protected]

Google scholar profile: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=FW_7LYYAAAAJ&hl=en

Tel:  +27 (0)12 420 2055